Participants at a grass root level discussion at Bakerganj upazila of Barisal stressed on farmers friendly policy and budget and extending irrigation facilities for grass root level agricultural developments to ensure food security on Friday.
The exchange of views programme held at Neamoti union Parishad of Bakerganj upazila was presided over by Tarikul Islam, secretary Kafila-Koynagor Khudra Pani Babosthapona Samobaey Samity Limited.
The programme was jointly organised by non-government organisations Prantajon Trust in association with Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood (CSRL) and Oxfam to discuss need of special budget of the union parishad for extending irrigation facilities to increase agricultural production.
Among others Sk. Saidur Rahman, Forkan Mridha, Nurul Islam, Jalilur Rahman, Jabeda Khatun, UP members, Shah Alam, Sajib Sharif, Abdul Hamid, Sushil Kumar Sarkar, Masud Haoladar, Khalilur Rahman, Firoj Alam, Abul Kalam, Khalil Mridha, Majid Mridha, Rustam Ali, Matiur Rahman, Humaun Kabir, Jalil, Sabbir Gazi, develoment workers and participated in the discussion .
They urged the government for formulation of a farmer’s friendly agricultural policy and budget for extending irrigation facilities to ensure sustainable growth of the country with food security.
The participants said dream of green revolution by agriculture development could not be materialised unless withdrawing of tax-burdens on agricultural inputs, ensuring provision of subsidy and supply of quality certified seeds and timely availability of fertilisers and irrigation facilities.
Loosing navigability of the waterways and shortages of surface water resources not only creating marketing, transportations and irrigation crisis, but forced to leave arable lands uncultivated and detaching agricultural sector from the main development trends, they told.
They said that extending irrigation facilities for maximum use of limited agricultural lands should become priority of the government. Country could not reach to development destination without devising farmer-friendly policies and resolving the difficulties of the growers.
Farmers in this disaster-prone region have to face different limitations in pre-production period including climate change affects, irrigation and standard seed supply crisis, lack of proper planning and investment, they marked.
Farming community also faces with numerous challenges such difficulties of transportations at the time of marketing of produced items and depriving from fair price in post production period.
The speakers suggesting the government to form a task force on agriculture with representatives of grass root level stakeholders told the need for devising farmer-friendly policies needed not only to promote the agriculture but also to keep running wheels of different industries and taking full advantage of the budget-surplus status.
